A Canadian in Paris by John Drudge

He leaned
Against the wall
Of the Seine
With a slow cigar
And watched
The lights of Pont Neuf
On the water
Near the Canadian pub
In the Latin Quarter
Where he had watched
The hockey game
In the early evening
Drinking Labatt’s on draft
And speaking English
To a bartender
From Montreal
As a young couple
Held each other
Beneath a streetlight
On the cobblestone bank
Along the river below
In the mist
Of an early morning
In Paris
John is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology. He is the author of three books of poetry: “March” and “The Seasons of Us” (both published in 2019) and New Days (published in 2020). His work has appeared widely in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.